Tesla’s Optimus robot now performs household chores with ease

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, shared an updated video of the company’s humanoid robot, Optimus, on Wednesday, showcasing the robot reliably performing a range of household tasks, marking a notable leap forward in its development.

Posted on X (formerly Twitter), the footage shows Optimus taking out the trash, dusting a desk with a broom, operating a vacuum cleaner, and opening and closing curtains. The robot’s ability to execute these tasks demonstrates substantial progress from earlier versions, which were limited to walking and simple arm movements.

In addition to cleaning, Optimus also tackled basic kitchen chores. The robot stirred food in a pot on a gas stove, pressed buttons on a microwave, opened shelves, and tore off sheets of paper towel. All actions performed with fluid, human-like motion.

“I don’t just dance all day,” Musk quipped in his post, referencing a video shared earlier this month that featured Optimus making dance-like gestures. Musk has called Optimus the “greatest product ever.”

Milan Kovac, Tesla’s lead engineer on the Optimus project, also posted on X, explaining that one of the team’s goals is to teach Optimus tasks by allowing it to watch online videos of humans performing them. “It’s now possible to transfer what the robot learns from human videos into its actions,” he wrote, signaling a major breakthrough in machine learning efficiency.

While Tesla remains primarily known for electric vehicles, the company appears to be increasingly pivoting toward robotics. “In the long term, the only things that truly matter are autonomous driving and Optimus,” Musk said in a recent interview with CNBC, stressing that these two technologies will ultimately shape Tesla’s financial future.

During Tesla’s earnings call on April 22, Musk announced plans to begin producing thousands of Optimus units by the end of the year, with the goal of ramping up to one million units annually within four years.


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